NO. 1: COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 14:

PAC-12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: USC vs. STANFORD

Details/TV: At Santa Clara, Saturday, 4:45 p.m., ESPN:

The college football world was so much different back on Sept. 20. In Week 3, No. 6 USC, under Steve Sarkisian, was an untested 2-0 and unranked Stanford was trying to figure itself out after a season-opening loss at Northwestern. Then the Trojans and Cardinal met in the Pac-12 opener at the Coliseum, and things turned sideways. Sophomore Christian McCaffrey, who wasn’t in the Heisman discussion, ran for 115 yards while a battered-and-bruised Kevin Hogan threw for two TDs and 279 yards as the double-digit underdog Cardinal upended the Trojans, 41-31. Remound Wright had 11 carries and scored three rushing TDs against USC that day. “Whenever you play Stanford, you’re going to play big-boy ball, and that’s what we’ve got to do,” said USC linebacker Su’a Cravens after that game. “We’ve got to grow up. We’ve got to establish ourselves and execute.” So look at what has happened now. The teams that started the conference season against each other will now end it. The Trojans (8-4, 6-3), who coached by Clay Helton have crept back into the AP poll at No. 24, have the Pac-12 South because of a tie-breaker against Utah. Stanford (10-2, 8-1), inching up to No. 7 in the AP poll after outlasting Notre Dame last Saturday, had the Pac-12 North wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. It ended up getting 1,640 yards rushing, 435 yards receiving and is closing in on Barry Sander’s all-time FBS record of 3,250 all-purpose yards. Hogan finished second in the conference in passing rating (168.6, 23 TDs, 7 INTs), one spot ahead of USC’s Cody Kessler (158.6, 27 TDs, 6 INTs). Hogan, however, was sacked just 17 times this season, the fewest of any conference starter. Kessler went down 31 times.

NO. 2: COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

UCLA vs. KENTUCKY

Details/TV: At Pauley Pavilion, Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN:

Need a reminder about what happened the last time UCLA met up with Kentucky when the Wildcats were undefeated with the No. 1 ranking? It was just last December, in Chicago. Kentucky took, ahem, a 24-0 lead. There was no mercy rule. It was so bad that officials lost track of one of the Bruins’ second-half baskets and put out an amended box score about 90 minutes after the game was declared an 83-44 Kentucky win. Of the 12 Wildcats who got into that game last year, none of the starters remain on this team that has started 6-0 and is back to No. 1. Sophomore guard Tyler Ulis and junior forward Marcus Lee came off the bench last year, but as starters, combined for 28 points when Kentucky knocked off then No. 5 Duke, 74-63, in Chicago on Nov. 17. Coach John Calipari’s team is noticeably different in size as well, going with a three-guard offense instead of having three starters at 6-10, 7-0 and 7-0, including No. 1 overall NBA pick Karl-Anthony Towns. Three of UCLA’s five starters from that Kentucky game last year continue to start this year – Tony Parker, Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton, who combined for 40 of the Bruins’ 73 points in a 19-point loss to No. 5 Kansas last week at the Maui Classic, the only ranked team UCLA has faced so far.

NO. 3: NHL: KINGS vs. PITTSBURGH

Details/TV: At Staples Center, Saturday, 1 p.m., FSW:

The Penguins start the week losing three of their last four, and going into an overtime or shootout in their last three. Yeah, but they’re still the Penguins. Evengi Malkin (11 goals, 11 assists in 23 games) has provided the team’s offensive boost, with Phil Kessel on his line. That leaves Sidney Crosby (5 goals, 10 assists in 23 games) with a curious minus-10 on-ice performance thus far.

NO. 4: HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION PAC-5 DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP:

ST. JOHN BOSCO vs. CENTENNIAL (CORONA)

Details/TV: At Angel Stadium, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., FSW:

With Josh Rosen at quarterback a season ago, No. 1 seed St. John Bosco of Bellflower couldn’t defend its Pac-5 title, suffering a 48-41 upset against Centennial. The rematch of two 13-0 teams ranked first and second in the state and in most Top 10 polls nationally goes right back to the place last year’s game was played. Bosco QB Quentin Davis completed 17 of 20 passes for 301 yards and four TDs in a semifinal win over Bishop Amat. Centennial has averaged 56 points a game this season, but Mater Dei is the only team to score three touchdowns in one game against Bosco this season.

CIF L.A. CITY SECTION DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP:

NARBONNE vs. CRENSHAW

Details: At Cerritos College, Saturday, 7 p.m.

The matchup of No. 1 seed Narbonne (11-2) and No. 6 seed Crenshaw (7-3) is their third title meeting in four years. The defending champion Gauchos, making their fifth straight trip to this championship, lost to the Cougars, 20-13, in the 2013 title game. The year before, Narbonne blanked Crenshaw, 25-0.

NO. 5: COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 14:

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP: FLORIDA vs. ALABAMA

Details/TV: At Atlanta, Saturday, 1 p.m., Ch. 2

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP: IOWA vs. MICHIGAN STATE

Details/TV: At Indianapolis, Saturday, 5 p.m., Ch. 11

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP: CLEMSON vs. NORTH CAROLINA

Details/TV: At North Carolina, Saturday, 5 p.m., Ch. 7:

Things could get squirrely here if current No. 1 Clemson goes into shock against the 14th-ranked Tar Heels (11-1, winners of 11 straight). The 12-0 Tigers have played just two ranked teams this season, outlasting Notre Dame by two and Florida State by 10. Iowa, meanwhile, is an underdog to stay unbeaten and stake a claim for the final four.

NO. 6: NFL WEEK 13: DENVER at SAN DIEGO

Details/TV: Sunday, 1:05 p.m., Ch. 2

If you’re holding out for Peyton Manning to come back and play against the Chargers this weekend …

NO. 7: NBA: CLIPPERS vs. ORLANDO

Details/TV: At Staples Center, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Prime:

Because you can’t spell “Clippers Dance Squad” without a couple of “E!s,” the entertainment channel is prepared to air an “unscripted series” about the drama behind the crew’s existence starting early next year. Will that include behind-the-scenes stuff where they’re trying to cheer up players after another under-achieving performance? A run of six in a row at home comes to an end here in a week that includes games against Portland (Monday, 7:30 p.m., Prime) and Indiana (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Prime). Starting next week: Five in a row on the road.

NO. 8: NBA: LAKERS at PHILADELPHIA

Details/TV: Tuesday, 4 p.m., TWCS:

They may be trying to fly under the radar for an eight-game, two-week road trip, but the rest of the country will be looking to see if the 0-18 Sixers have the right opponent up on the schedule to snap a 28-game losing streak.

NO. 9: WATER POLO: NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

Details/TV: Sunday at UCLA, 6 p.m., NCAA.com

Talk about having an home-pool advantage. The site was determined well before 28-0 UCLA earned the No. 1 seed for this event. The Bruins will face either Princeton or UC San Diego in Saturday’s semifinals (4 p.m.), and could end up taking on No. 3 seed and nine-time champion USC (20-6) for the title. The Trojans, who won six NCAA titles in a row from 2008 to 2013 with coach Jovan Vavic, need to get past Claremont Mudd-Scripps in a quarterfinal play-in match on Thursday, which would get them to the semifinals against No. 2 and 23-6 Cal (Saturday, 6 p.m.). USC split two meetings with Cal this season, both in the Bay Area. UCLA defeated USC three times in the regular season.

NO. 10: HORSE RACING:

LOS ALAMITOS WINTER MEETING OPENING DAY

Details/TV: Thursday, 12:30 p.m., TVG

The meet through Dec. 20 is highlighted by the $350,000 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 19, won last year by Dortmund, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby. Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Nyquist is already entered for the Futurity.

Tom Hoffarth is a freelancer. He had been with the Daily News/Southern California News Group since 1992 as a general assignment sports reporter, columnist and specialist in the sports media. He has been honored by the Associated Press for sports columnists and honored by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association for his career work. His favorite sportscaster of all time: Vin Scully, for professional and personal reasons. He considers watching Zenyatta win the Breeders' Cup 2009 Classic to be the most memorable sporting event he has covered in his career. Go figure that.